The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018

Flagstar Bank announced Tuesday it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase a mortgage warehouse loan portfolio from Santander Bank.

As part of the transaction, Flagstar will bring on Santander's existing relationship managers, adding the employees to its warehouse business, the company explained in a release. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

"We are pleased to welcome the Santander warehouse lending team to Flagstar," said Alessandro DiNello, president and chief executive officer of Flagstar.

"We've been a warehouse lender for over 20 years and are excited about the opportunity to strengthen and diversify our mortgage warehouse business. It also allows us to leverage our experience and bring our quality service to more customers in the mortgage marketplace. For our new customers, it means more product choices, including eNotes."

The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018, the company said.

In January, the bank announced it was expanding its consumer direct lending operation by adding a team from Capital One. Last year, the company acquiredStearns Lending’s delegated correspondent lending business. In May, Flagstar closed on its acquisition of “certain assets” of Opes Advisors, a full-service mortgage bank and financial advisory firm. And late last year, Flagstar acquired eight Desert Community Bank branches in San Bernardino County, Calif., from East West Bank.

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